![]() ![]() Two days later my brothers and I had survived several lineups in many different towns. Soon other numbers were called out, and by the time we left that afternoon to board another train, several of the children were gone. Then they walked to a table filled with papers, where some of the caretakers were sitting. A smiling woman wearing a flowered dress joined them. Number 30’s face turned white as he left the line with the man. The man reached out and felt my arm, I stared straight ahead, “A bit scrawny,” he commented, then moved on down and chose number 30. Leo grabbed hold of my leg as a tall man dressed in overalls approached us. I picked Gerald up and glared at the milling adults. “Then we were instructed to go stand at the front of the church, where a lot of adults began coming in and crowding around us. He left with his two brothers and spoke about his arrival: Lee Nailling was one of the children who left on one of these trains from New York City. After selected, the children were given a new outfit and a bible to start off their journey. Sometimes there was a lot of competition for a certain type of child (boy vs girl, ages, appearance, etc). The Daily Independent of Grand Island, Nebraska (1912) reported, “some ordered boys, others girls, some preferred light babies, others dark, and the orders were filled out properly and every new parent was delighted.” The children were often inspected and encouraged to “show off” including singing, dancing, etc. The children would finally get off the train upon arrival and be stunned (and possibly frightened) to see the crowds craning their necks to see if there would be a child they could bring into their family. When the trains arrived in town, prospective “parents” came from miles around to see. Overall, the children themselves did not have much choice in where and who they were going to. Many of the children had no idea where they were going once they boarded these trains and this would be a very upsetting time for them. Some were placed with families in advance, but others it was whoever came to make a bid for them upon their arrival. Fliers were placed out in advance at the towns that the trains were arriving in order to search for families where the children could be placed. By the end of the program, over 30 states accepted new children. On September 1854, the first train was sent out to Dowagiac, Michigan. Many families who had moved West needed the help on their farms and homesteads that these children could provide. He thought that they would have better opportunities if these children were sent West with the goal of finding a family to take them in. He felt that there was a better way to control the homeless situation and try to actually help the children who were alone. There was minimal education opportunities, food, and attention.Ĭharles Loring Brace founded the Children Aid Society. These children were given no help to better their lives at this place. There were some poor houses, asylums, and orphanages that were formed to try and control this, but these were overcrowded and abusive. They were often taken advantage of and arrested as adults. They may have terrorized some of the neighborhoods, but they were just trying to survive in the difficult world they were born into. They formed gangs who would steal in order to stay fed and clothed. These children were force to turn to desperate measures to survive. These children may have been abandoned by parents who no longer wanted them/could not afford them or some, sadly, lost their birth parents due to disease (typhoid/yellow fever epidemics), addiction, malnutrition/poverty, or freak accidents (especially through dangerous work accidents). In New York City, it was estimated that there were about 10,000-30,000 children living on the streets. I thought this was incredible and I quickly wanted to learn more.ĭue to the influx of immigration during the late 19th century, large east coast cities (like NYC and Boston) were having problems with large masses of orphaned children living on the streets. From 1854-1929 the Orphan Trains delivered about 200,000 children to different homes in the American West. One small information blurb at the museum really caught my attention. ![]() I visited Ellis Island and it was a great museum where I learned quite a bit. I recently took a trip to New York City and I found a bit of that passion once again. ![]() It has been a bit of a struggle to find topics I am passionate with especially with the worries of the past year. I took a bit of a hiatus from the blog as it has been difficult to find the motivation to research and write. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |